NY Cops Call FF's Fears 'Ridiculous'

Aug. 01 -- SYRACUSE, NY -- The president of the Syracuse police union said it's ridiculous that Ted Ackerman would fear police officers might shoot him as he hid after a fatal hit and run last year.

Ackerman, a city firefighter, fled the scene of a fatal accident he witnessed, then hid in the basement of Pastime Athletic Club while police banged on the door upstairs. The city fired Ackerman last year, but an arbitrator recently ruled he should be rehired.

According to a summary of testimony from an arbitration hearing, Ackerman and the union claimed in their appeal of his firing that Ackerman hid in the basement of Pastime because he was afraid police might mistake him for his friend, Peter Rauch, and shoot him.

That testimony says Ackerman was aware of the relationship between Rauch's boss -- District Attorney Bill Fitzpatrick -- and the police chief, Frank Fowler. Fitzpatrick and Fowler have had a public feud for years and Rauch was one of Fitzpatrick's investigators.

Jeff Piedmonte, president of the Syracuse Police Benevolent Association, said the officers who responded to the call that night -- and many others -- are upset their character would be so brazenly attacked.

"It's inferred that we would simply go down and shoot Rauch because he worked for Mr. Fitzpatrick and the chief and district attorney haven't gotten along," Piedmonte said. "That's not the way police operate...It's ridiculous."

Rauch had just hit and fatally injured an 18-year-old pedestrian, Seth Collier, then fled the scene. Police found his car at Pastime and attempted to enter and search the building. They banged on the door for more than half an hour, but no one responded.

Rauch wasn't there, but his friends Ackerman and Ben Mahshie, who also fled the scene, were inside. Ackerman was the club's president.

As cops banged on the door upstairs, Ackerman and Mahshie hid in the basement. 

Police Chief Fowler said Ackerman's actions that night don't line up with claims that he feared for his safety. 

"If he's so concerned about police, he's going to come out," Fowler said. "His actions contradicted his statement."

Eventually, four cops gained entry and searched the building with long guns.

Ackerman was found pretending to be asleep in a recliner, and feigned ignorance when cops approached him, Piedmonte said. 

"To pretend you don't know why we're in the building isn't a professional response," Piedmonte said. "That's the response we get from professional criminals: 'Who me? Why are you here?' They know why we're here."

As a firefighter, Ackerman is familiar with police protocols, Piedmonte said. The two departments often respond together to calls. If he was afraid cops might shoot him, he would have responded to them, identified himself, and let police in the building, Piedmonte said.

By hiding, he gave police reason to be wary, Piedmonte said. Cops didn't know what to expect inside. They had found Rauch's car outside with an empty gun holster in the backseat, Piedmonte said. 

"The only reason we went down with long guns to begin with was because we didn't know what was going on," Piedmonte said. "Our guys were making noise to make sure they weren't startling anyone. We were aware Rauch had just killed this poor Collier kid. He had a gun and we didn't know what his mindset would be. We didn't know what we'd face so we were overly cautious."

Chief Fowler said Ackerman had every opportunity to come out of the building. Cops had no idea he was inside, or that he was in any way involved in the accident at the time.

He added that Ackerman shouldn't have even been in the club. 

"Ted Ackerman is a public officer and a first responder. He's medically trained to respond to people who are sick or injured," Fowler said. "He knew that young man had been struck by a vehicle and he chose not to do anything about it as that man lay dying. Then he goes to another location when he knew police were coming. Ackerman had no business being inside that building. He should have been at the scene [of the accident] still."

After police discovered him, Ackerman made no claim that he was afraid for his life, Piedmonte said. 

As for the claim that police might mistake Ackerman for Rauch, Fowler said that was nonsense.

"We know the difference between Ted Ackerman and Peter Rauch," Fowler said.

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